Twenty Moments
by KipperCat25
Summary: Every word has a memory attached to it, whether it be joyful, sad, or bittersweet. Zoro's memories are packed to the brim with emotions. Twenty One-Shots created using a list of twenty random words. Genres and ratings will be listed before the story.
1. Stars

**I got the original idea for this story from Military Mechanic. The general idea is to make a list of twenty words and then make them into small little sentences. I found a list of twenty words and decided to make one-shots about them instead. All of these will be about Zoro. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Stars**

**Genre(s)-Hurt/Comfort  
**

**Rating-K  
**

Zoro sighed and walked out onto the deck, his bare feet making quiet padding sounds. He slid down to his place at the base of the mast and leaned back.

Moving his gaze upwards, his attention turned to the thousands of tiny, glittering stars that littered the night sky. They made him feel peaceful. Watching the stars was the easiest way for him to fall asleep. When watching the stars, he would always fall asleep easily and sleep deeply, often having amazing dreams that filled him with confidence and power.

Unfortunately, all that came with a price.

"Oi! Marimo! Watch where you put your feet!" the chef yelled, having tripped over Zoro in the dark.

He grunted, completely immersed in his study of the sky.

Sanji, surprised, looked up. Then he smiled.

"Watching the sky, are we?" he asked. "What do you hope to see up there?"

Zoro looked sharply at Sanji.

Sanji chuckled. "Everyone who looks at the sky always has something they want to see," he said.

Zoro sighed. "I want to see Kuina up there. I want to know that she's alright."

The blond chef placed a hand on Zoro's shoulder.

Zoro looked up, meeting Sanji's gaze.

"She's alright," he said. "I'm sure of it." He removed his hand and walked back into the galley.

Zoro stared after him until he could no longer see the blond. Then he frowned and looked back up at the sky. His gaze began roving the sky for any sign of Kuina, anything to tell him that she was okay.

A shooting star lit up the night, dashing from one side of the sky to the other. His desperate gaze met that of the star, and he saw Kuina looking down at him. She smiled before disappearing into the night.

Satisfied, he closed his eyes. But not before a lone tear carved a path down his muscular face.


	2. Candy

**Candy**

**Genre(s)- Humor**

**Rating- K**

Zoro glanced around quickly before lifting the loose floorboard in the men's dormitory. He hadn't expected to have the need to draw upon his secret stash so soon, but he should have anticipated it, considering Luffy was on board. If Luffy hadn't been a part of his crew, Zoro probably wouldn't have ever needed his stash. But, since he decided he was hungry all the time and needed to eat _all the time_, the moment had come much sooner than he had ever imagined.

Zoro pulled a small bag out of the floor and replaced the wood before standing. He sighed happily. Now for some time to enjoy his—

"CANDY!" Luffy's voice rang out. "GIMME CANDYYYYY!" he rushed into the room and snatched the bag from Zoro's hand. He then began eating, shoveling as much candy as he could into his rubber mouth.

"Luffy! NO!" Zoro said. Desperate, he grabbed a book off of a nearby shelf and slammed it down on Luffy's head.

"Uhn…" Luffy groaned, dropping the bag of candy. A golf ball-sized welt was already forming on his forehead.

Zoro smirked and grabbed the bag from the floor. Now he could actually enjoy his snack. He reached his hand into the bag and started with surprise. Moving his hand around, he searched for some candy. But there wasn't any.

"NOOOOOOO!" Zoro screamed loud enough to wake the dead. "WHY ME!?" He fell to his knees, dropping the candy bag beside him.

And during all of Zoro's ranting and screaming, Luffy lay there on the floor, chuckling softly, his hands full of candy.

* * *

**Zoro has a candy addiction! Hehe.**


	3. Wings

**Wings**

**Genre(s)-Idk...what do you think this is?  
**

**Rating-K**

Zoro stared up ahead, shocked. He was in a cave, an ordinary one, with dark walls and stalactites and dirt, so he definitely wasn't prepared for what he saw up ahead.

He took another step towards the stone altar, careful to make as little noise as possible. A drip of water plunked down on his shoe, and he froze.

A few minutes later he stood mere steps away from the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Upon reaching the altar, he set his gaze upon the gorgeous beauties. He was trembling in his boots, he was so awed.

Reaching out a shaky hand, he stroked the material. It felt so soft, like fur, but sleek, like silk, and it had the most beautiful color—

Zoro shook his head violently. He had to stay focused. He reached out and picked them up, slipping them over his shoulders with ease. They seemed to have been molded to fit him perfectly.

Running out of the cave, he launched himself off the cliff. The wings had molded themselves into his back, becoming part of his muscular and nervous systems. He could control them the same way he controlled his arms and legs.

Flapping his wings, the powerful strokes carried him high into the crisp morning air. He pumped his fist in the air. "YEAH!" he exclaimed.

He tucked his wings in close to his body and began gliding downwards. He enjoyed the feeling of freedom that flying gave him.

Zoro landed gently just outside of his camp. Now he had to hide his wings, or Luffy would get suspicious…and ask for a ride. He folded his wings and tucked them underneath his shirt. They folded flat and left almost no bulge. He smiled happily and stepped into the camp. He would have to keep this a secret from everyone.


	4. Salutations

**Salutations**

**Genre(s)-Humor, Usopp Humiliation (that should definitely be a genre)**

**Rating-K Plus.**

Zoro tapped his foot, irritated, as he waited for Usopp to speak. He didn't really like being at a comic convention, but everyone else was busy so he _had_ to take Usopp.

Zoro shook his head. Luffy thought it would be a great 'bonding experience' for the two of them to go to a comic-con together. No way. He had pleaded and yelled at his captain, trying to convince him he didn't need to go, but none of it worked. He had been surprised when he offered Luffy food and the boy had said no.

Usopp stepped up onto the platform, knees quaking.

Zoro looked up and glared at Usopp. Finally.

Usopp cleared his throat and took a deep breath to try and control his shaking. He looked out over the audience.

"Greetings and salutations, my fellow—"

"What the hell does 'salutations' mean?" Zoro exploded. He was already mad at Usopp for forcing him to come, so he really wasn't in the mood to listen to long words and speeches.

Usopp looked over at Zoro and gulped. "Uh…it m-means h-hello," he all but whispered.

A few people around Zoro chuckled at the feeble explanation. "What was that?" A guy standing at the back asked. "I didn't catch what you said."

A drop of sweat rolled down Usopp's face, and he glanced down at the speech in his hand. The words blurred on the page, and a drop of water smeared the ink.

"Aw, look, he's crying!" someone shouted teasingly.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Usopp shouted. He threw his speech down and ran right off the stage, sobbing.

Zoro sighed and made his way back to the parking lot to wait for Usopp. Who knew that Usopp could have a tantrum just from explaining salutations?

Opening the car door, Zoro slid in and turned up the radio. Yeah, Usopp was a strange man.

* * *

**Hehe. Bet you'll never guess what the next word is! Ten points for you if you get it right.**


	5. Power

**Power**

**Genre(s)- Angst**

**Rating-T**

_CLANG! _The loud sound of steel hitting steel echoed around the forest.

Zoro gasped as the shock from his opponent's sword hitting his own vibrated his whole body. Twisting away, he raised his swords in a defensive stance.

His opponent was large, easily 200 pounds, but he wasn't fat. It was all muscle, or at least that's what it looked like. He carried one large, wide-bladed sword. His hair was curly, like Usopp's but shorter and orange. It was tied back out of his face with a bandana. He wore no shirt, just a red vest.

The fight was taking place in a small clearing in the forest. Zoro had been taking a nap outside of the camp when he had heard thrashing in the underbrush. Then _this _guy appeared. Apparently he wasn't too worried about stealth.

The big man swung his sword up above his head until its point was facing straight upwards.

"HONOO HONOO EARTHQUAKE!" He slammed his sword down, blunt edge slamming into the ground, making a shallow crevasse between the two fighters.

The ground started shaking, slightly at first, then more strongly. Zoro began to find it hard to keep his balance.

Just when he thought it was over, flames started licking at the edge of the man's sword.

Zoro's eyes widened. With all the dry brush and twigs scattered around on the forest floor, it wouldn't be long until the whole thing caught on fire.

The man laughed. "Afraid of a little fire, are you?"

"No. Fire doesn't scare me." Zoro watched as the flames traveled quickly along the crevasse, creating a line of fire between him and the man.

"Oh, well that's too bad. Because you're about to get up close and personal with Jenka, a fire-breather."

A fire-breather? Zoro knew he was at a large disadvantage. But there wasn't really anything he could do about it. He tightened his grip on his swords.

Jenka jumped over the fire line, clearing it easily, and landed on the other side of Zoro.

Zoro whirled around. Now he had a serious problem. Flames behind him, fire-breather in front. Although his swords were flameproof…so was this man. There wasn't really any sane way to fight him, unless he had water swords…but even that probably wouldn't work. He risked a glance at the sky. Not a cloud in sight.

Jenka noticed this. "Aw, think it might rain and wash me away? Well _too bad. _It looks like Mother Nature isn't listening to you today."

Zoro's body itched to go catch that man, and slice him to pieces, but he forced himself to stay put. He had to think of a way that he could win.

Interrupting his thoughts, Jenka raised his sword above his head again, the tip glinting with sunlight.

"HONOO HONOO EARTHQUAKE!"

Zoro jumped aside just as another crevasse opened up, filling with flames. He swallowed. Now he had flames on two sides.

He backed up until he felt the heat of the fire directly behind him, almost scorching his back. He stuck two of his swords into the fire, still facing Jenka, who was watching intently.

After waiting a minute, he pulled them out of the fire. Both were red hot, flames running up and down the blades. He held Kitetsu III up to his mouth and lit that sword, all the while staring at Jenka watching him.

When all three swords were lit, he held his swords out in front of him.

"YAKI ONI GIRI!" he shouted, running at Jenka.

Jenka didn't move, just waited until Zoro was about to hit him before swinging his sword up and meeting the three blades at the exact second that they all were lined up.

Zoro's eyes widened and a vein popped out in his forehead. This man was playing with him just like Mihawk had…

He lowered his swords and backed away, mind racing. There had to be some way…

Jenka raised his sword so it was horizontal across his chest.

Zoro gritted his teeth, wary of what would come next.

"HONOO HONOO WIND BLAST!"

Jenka spun his sword around, still in front of his chest, until it was going so fast that it looked like a disk.

Scorching hot air began buffeting Zoro, pushing him closer to the fire lines. He stuck two swords in the ground to keep from moving. He gritted his teeth as the air began burning his skin. It felt like he had just jumped into a swimming pool of boiling water.

Suddenly, the air stopped, and Zoro gasped for breath. His lungs felt like they were scorched. He looked up, releasing both swords from the ground as he did so.

But there was nothing to look at. It seemed as if Jenka had disappeared.

Suddenly he felt a rush of air above him, and he looked up just in time to see Jenka descending on him, sword above his head.

"HONOO HONOO STEALTH ATTACK!"

Jenka swung his sword downward at an amazing speed.

Zoro raised his swords to block the attack.

Their swords met, an ear-splitting _CLANG _echoing around the forest.

Zoro knew his body couldn't take much more stress. As Jenka pushed his sword down harder, his arms began to buckle, and he fell to one knee.

Jenka gave one final thrust before spinning away.

With the stress finally gone from his arms, Zoro collapsed, his swords lying beside him. He breathed heavily and his limbs felt as though they were made of lead. _Such…power…is this what it means to be the greatest swordsman in the world? Power…_

He heard Jenka come up behind him and braced himself to get up, but his limbs wouldn't listen. He heard the rush of air as the sword sliced downward, and he closed his eyes.

The sword made contact, and time seemed to slow down. As the cut was made, Zoro saw his life flash before his eyes in slow motion. He saw Kuina, and felt a stab of guilt as he realized he had let her down yet again. He saw Luffy, laughing as he was chased out of the kitchen by Sanji. Then Mihawk…

Zoro gasped as the pain hit him.

Jenka laughed. "You won't die," he said. "But you'll come close."

Zoro gritted his teeth. His breath came in shallow gasps. He forced himself up onto his knees, grabbing his swords. Using them for support, he forced himself to his feet.

His shirt was soaked through with blood now, and his vision swam.

Jenka seemed surprised that Zoro had managed to get up.

Zoro raised his swords. "I will…defeat you…I have to…"

Suddenly there was a thrashing in the underbrush.

Both Zoro and Jenka looked over, surprised. Luffy came barreling out, a grin on his face. When he saw Zoro, he stopped.

"Zoro…" Luffy looked at Zoro's back. "Did he do this to you?"

Zoro nodded.

Luffy set his mouth in a grim line. "You're too badly hurt to fight. I'll do it." He stepped forward, the flames from the fire lines dancing in his eyes, making the moment seem even more dramatic.

Zoro mumbled his thanks before stumbling over to the side of the clearing and collapsing.

Luffy stepped forward, readying his fists. "I will win for you, Zoro. If it's the last thing I do...I owe you. I know how much you want to accomplish your dream. I know the guilt you feel every time you lose a battle. I understand that. This is your fight. But, sometimes even the greatest need help."

Zoro just smiled slightly.

Luffy swung one of his fists back. "GUM GUM PISTOL!"

* * *

**I always feel bad for Zoro whenever I write...I wonder why? ;P Anyway, this took me FOREVER to write. Not because I was bored, or lost my concentration, but because fight scenes are hard for me to write...how'd I do?**


	6. String

**Yeah, yeah. I know, it's been a long time since I updated this story, but...yeah. A person has other things to do than sit at the computer all day, y'know? Anyway, here it is!**

**Genre(s)-Humor  
**

**Rating-K  
**

* * *

Zoro sighed and stretched, sitting up in his hammock. Swinging his feet over the side, he stood up.

Sleepily, he made his way to the bathroom so he could shave. He smothered his face with shaving cream and ran the razor carefully from his neck to his chin. His brain finally waking up, he got the feeling that something was wrong.

He put down his razor and retrieved his swords, glancing anxiously around the room. He decided he should check out the rest of the house and make sure everyone was okay.

He opened his door and walked straight into a bunch of string that was zigzagged across his doorway. He bounced back, surprised.

Zoro cut away the string with his sword and stepped out into the hallway. It was then that he noticed the whole house was zigzagged with string, not just his doorway.

Every doorway, every hallway, every room was filled with string from top to bottom. Zoro frowned. Who would have the guts, and _skill, _to do such a thing without attracting attention? Unless…

Zoro's gaze shot to the calendar hanging on the wall. It was April 1st.

"…LUUUUFFYYY!" Zoro yelled. Then, to himself, he muttered, "God, I hate string."


End file.
